Freedom Mortgage Insurance Department and Missed Escrow Payments

Last updated November 9, 2026

The insurer's letter is dated June 20. The renewal premium was never paid, and the policy cancels July 1. In this composite example, a Delray Beach homeowner's loan moved to Freedom Mortgage in March, and the renewal bill went to Freedom. In September, Freedom warns it will buy insurance on the house at her expense. The next March, her tax bill is still unpaid.

Freedom Mortgage's insurance department, which Freedom's site calls its Insurance Claims Department, is reached at 855-690-5900, the same number as its customer care line. This page covers Freedom's insurance contacts and what the law requires when Freedom misses an escrowed insurance or tax payment. This page is by Darren Newhart, a consumer protection attorney with Newhart Legal, P.A. in Loxahatchee, Florida.

If Freedom Mortgage holds escrow for your insurance or property taxes, it must pay them on time. Federal law requires payment by the deadline to avoid a penalty, and if the account runs short while you are no more than 30 days behind, Freedom must advance its own money. 12 U.S.C. § 2605(g); 12 C.F.R. § 1024.17(k)(1), (2). Florida law requires payment in time to take the maximum tax discount and to keep coverage from lapsing. Fla. Stat. § 501.137(1).

Freedom's own FAQ says it pays "your tax and insurance bills from the escrow account when they come due." It also says it usually receives those bills directly from the tax office and the insurer.

What does Freedom Mortgage list for its insurance department?

Freedom's website lists 855-690-5900 for insurance claims, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern. Its insurance department page covers claim checks after a loss. Those go to Freedom Mortgage, Attention: Loss Draft Department, P.O. Box 6501, Springfield, OH 45501-6501, by regular mail, or 1 Assurant Way, Springfield, OH 45505, by overnight mail. Claims can also be handled online through InsuranceClaimCheck.com/FreedomMortgage. Freedom's website lists a corporate address at 951 Yamato Road in Boca Raton.

These details were taken from Freedom's site on November 9, 2026. The company can change them.

Where do I send proof of insurance to Freedom Mortgage?

Freedom's insurance page, contact page, and FAQ do not give an address, fax number, or upload page for proof of a new policy or for the mortgagee clause, as of November 9, 2026. The FAQ says that when a loan transfers to Freedom, the homeowner's insurance company must update the mortgagee clause to name Freedom. It also says Freedom usually gets the insurance bill directly from the insurer.

Regulation X fills part of the gap. Before a servicer charges for force-placed insurance, its written notice must describe the insurance information it needs and how the borrower may provide it. 12 C.F.R. § 1024.37(c)(2)(vii), (viii).

The date proof arrives matters. It starts the servicer's 15-day deadline to cancel force-placed coverage and refund the overlap, covered below. § 1024.37(g).

Does Freedom Mortgage have to pay my homeowners insurance from escrow?

Yes, and on time. When your loan escrows for insurance, RESPA requires the servicer to pay the premium "in a timely manner as such payments become due." 12 U.S.C. § 2605(g). Regulation X defines timely as on or before the deadline to avoid a penalty. 12 C.F.R. § 1024.17(k)(1).

A short account is no excuse. If you are no more than 30 days behind, the servicer must advance the premium and recover the shortage from you later. § 1024.17(k)(2).

Florida adds a notice duty. If the escrow account cannot cover a tax or premium, the lender must tell you within 15 days after it receives the bill. Fla. Stat. § 501.137(2).

What if Freedom Mortgage didn't pay my property taxes?

Florida's tax calendar makes timing matter. Property taxes are due November 1. Fla. Stat. § 197.333. Paying early earns a discount: 4 percent in November, 3 percent in December, 2 percent in January, 1 percent in February. § 197.162(1). Taxes unpaid on April 1 become delinquent. § 197.333. Delinquent taxes bear interest at 18 percent a year from that date, with a 3 percent minimum if they are paid before the county sells a tax certificate on the property. § 197.172(1).

Here Florida goes further than federal law. Regulation X lets a servicer choose whether to pay a lump sum to capture a discount; it does not require it. 12 C.F.R. § 1024.17(k)(3). Florida's escrow statute requires the lender to pay in time to take the maximum discount. Fla. Stat. § 501.137(1).

For a borrower no more than 30 days behind, a servicer that misses the April 1 deadline is late under both laws. The interest and charges that follow are the kind of loss these statutes address.

Can Freedom Mortgage charge me for force-placed insurance after it let my policy lapse?

The rules cut against it. A servicer may not charge you for force-placed insurance unless it has a reasonable basis to believe you failed to keep the required coverage. 12 U.S.C. § 2605(k)(1)(A). When the servicer held the escrow money and did not send it, that basis is hard to find.

For a borrower more than 30 days behind who escrows for insurance, Regulation X goes further. The servicer may not buy force-placed coverage if it can keep your own policy in force by paying from escrow, and a short account does not count as being unable to pay. 12 C.F.R. § 1024.17(k)(5).

Before any charge, the servicer must send a written notice at least 45 days ahead and a reminder at least 15 days ahead. § 1024.37(c), (d). Once it receives evidence that you had coverage, it must cancel the force-placed policy within 15 days and refund the overlapping premiums. § 1024.37(g).

What does Florida law add if my insurance lapsed?

If the lender's neglect causes a missed premium while escrow held enough to pay it, Florida law sets three remedies. Fla. Stat. § 501.137(3).

If the premium is no more than 90 days overdue, the insurer must reinstate the policy back to the date of cancellation, and the lender repays your reinstatement fees. Past 90 days, or if the insurer will not reinstate, the lender pays the difference between your old premium and a comparable new policy for two years, plus attorney's fees and costs if it refuses. And the lender is liable for any loss the lapsed policy would have covered, up to its limits.

Two limits matter. The Florida remedy applies only when escrow held enough to pay. And it names the lender, so when your servicer did not make the loan, who answers is a question I look at case by case.

Florida's Consumer Collection Practices Act may apply as well. Collecting a force-placed premium or a shortage the servicer created can mean collecting a charge it knows is not owed. Fla. Stat. § 559.72(9).

Why did my Freedom Mortgage escrow payment go up?

Usually because a tax bill or premium went up. Freedom's FAQ says it analyzes the escrow account each year, spreads a shortage over 12 months, and sends a check for a surplus of $50 or more if the account is current. Regulation X sets those rules. A surplus of $50 or more must be refunded within 30 days of the analysis when the borrower is current, and a shortage of one month's escrow payment or more may be left in place or repaid over at least 12 months. 12 C.F.R. § 1024.17(f)(2), (f)(3)(ii). Freedom's contact page lists no separate escrow department number; its customer care line is 855-690-5900.

A shortage can also be the servicer's own doing. A force-placed premium charged to escrow, interest on a late tax payment, or a lost tax discount all show up in the next analysis as a higher payment. A separate post traces how an unpaid premium becomes an escrow shortage.

Can I sue Freedom Mortgage for not paying my insurance or taxes?

Yes, if Freedom broke a duty the statutes give it. RESPA lets a borrower sue a servicer that fails to pay escrowed taxes and insurance on time, for actual damages, up to $2,000 more if the failures are a pattern or practice, and attorney's fees and costs. 12 U.S.C. § 2605(f), (g). The deadline to sue is three years. 12 U.S.C. § 2614.

Actual damages in these cases are concrete. Reinstatement fees. Force-placed premiums charged to escrow. The higher premium on a replacement policy. A loss your own policy would have paid. Tax interest and charges. A lost tax discount. The payment increase from a shortage the servicer created.

A written notice of error about a missed tax or insurance payment requires the servicer to acknowledge it within 5 business days and to correct the error, or investigate and explain, within 30 business days. 12 C.F.R. § 1024.35(b)(4), (d), (e)(3). What the notice says, and when it arrived, shapes the case. I review these notices before they are sent. Another post covers what happens when a servicer ignores a request for information or a notice of error.

What evidence matters?

The annual escrow statement and each monthly statement. The insurer's nonpayment and cancellation notices, with their dates. Any force-placed insurance letters. The county tax collector's record of when the tax was paid. The servicing transfer notice, if the loan came to Freedom from another servicer. And any notice of error and Freedom's response.

I am Darren Newhart, a consumer protection attorney in Loxahatchee, Florida. Newhart Legal, P.A. handles mortgage servicer errors for homeowners in Palm Beach County and across South Florida. A related post covers what happens when a mortgage company didn't pay homeowners insurance from escrow. Consultations are free, by phone or email.

Questions people ask

Does Freedom Mortgage pay property taxes from escrow?
Its FAQ says it pays tax and insurance bills from the escrow account when they come due, and that it usually receives the bills from the tax office. In Florida, the lender must pay in time to take the maximum discount, which is 4 percent in November. Fla. Stat. §§ 501.137(1), 197.162(1).

What is the Freedom Mortgage insurance department phone number?
Freedom lists 855-690-5900 for its insurance claims department, the same number as its customer care line. Its site gives hours of Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern.

Can Freedom Mortgage charge me for force-placed insurance after missing my premium?
Only with a reasonable basis to believe you failed to keep coverage. 12 U.S.C. § 2605(k)(1)(A). And for an escrowed loan, it may not force-place coverage if paying from escrow would keep your policy in force; a short account does not excuse it. 12 C.F.R. § 1024.17(k)(5).